Tuesday morning (29th of July) after the residents of Al-Zeitun ─Eastern quarter of Gaza City where the Catholic parish of the Holy Family is also located─ received instructions to evacuate, a bombing carried out by the Israeli army struck a house that was very close to the parish. The damage is huge: the adjacent parish school, the pastor’s office and some rooms used by the parish have all been partially destroyed.
According to reports by Agenzia Fides, many people who had seeked refuge in the vicinity of the parish have escaped, but the evacuation has not been possible for those that currently live in the church: in addition to the Argentine Jorge Hernandez, a priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, there are even three nuns of Mother Teresa along with 29 disabled children and 9 elderly women in their care at the parish of the Holy Family. "We had a tough night, but we are here. This absurd war goes on and on", says Fr. Hernandez. "After destroying the neighbourhood of Shujayeh, now Zeitun is being targeted. Everything happens around us. The Hamas militants continue to fire rockets and then hide in the alleys. And we cannot do anything. We cannot evacuate, it is impossible with children. Their families live here. It is more dangerous to go out than to stay here. We try to stay in the safer places, always on the ground floor."
The needs of the population, still exposed to the bombs, are huge. They need medicines, food, clothes, matresses... Association pro Terra Sancta supports the Latin Parish through the nuns of Mother Theresa and the Incarnate Word, as well as through the priest. Supporting the locals of this stretch of land by the Mediterranean Sea means that we cannot lose hope of reaching a fair solution to the conflict via the negotiators.
Every contribution is essential. With a small amount we are in a position to send specific help to the population.
